Al Jazeera acquires Turkey's Cine 5

Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, or SDIF, approved Thursday Al Jazeera’s $40.5 million bid to acquire the Cine 5 television channel, which was previously seized by the government.

Qatari-based news network Al Jazeera has been preparing to launch a Turkish-language news channel based in the country for some time. Cine 5 had been put up for sale for the fifth time for $40 million on Jan. 31. Al Jazeera, which bid $21 million, increased its offer to $40.5 million on Feb. 4.

Turkey’s SDIF approved the latest Al Jazeera bid Thursday.

The result of the bidding will be presented for the approval of the Turkish Competition Authority and the Supreme Board of Radio and Television, or RTÜK.